Ian Angus, Director of Policy, delivered a speech at the recent Clarion Payment Providers Summit on 20 May.
He started off by introducing the idea that the UK is always at the forefront of compliance, while being aware of the precarious balance between this, innovation and customer experiences.
The UK Budget
The Budget was brought up almost immediately as a backdrop for the changing industry landscape.
Angus explained that: “Whilst the Gambling Commission doesn’t advise on tax and we don’t pretend to know what all the outcomes of that Budget will be on gambling, there were notable changes made and through our engagement with industry and public announcements, we are seeing changes as a result.
“The Treasury, of course, foresaw some of these changes themselves and this takes me on to what we at the Commission are doing this financial year.”
As part of the Budget, the Gambling Commission was awarded £26m ($34.93m) to combat illegal gambling for the next three years.
Tackling illegal gambling
He continued: “Our focus will grow to consider the drivers of consumer demand to the illegal market and how regulation can support innovation, aligned to the licensing objectives, that maintains the appeal of the licensed market.”
The Commission will publish data and metrics regarding the impact and dynamics of the illegal market, including updates on trends.
Notably, it is planning to create the first-ever national risk assessment for the illegal market in Britain.
Financial risk assessments
A controversial topic ever since its inception, Angus reflected that “on Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs), it’s fair to say they have attracted some attention in recent months as well as plenty of coverage. Sadly, much of that has included ill informed or inaccurate content.”
A recent report from the Commission found that the vast majority of operators were already conducting financial vulnerability checks long before the policy was introduced in 2024.
“To summarise, Financial Risk Assessments are not affordability checks by another name - the checks we have been piloting will not even attempt to make an assessment of what each customer can afford to gamble,” he explained. “Nor do the proposed thresholds for an assessment limit or cap customer spend. ”
The pilot found that less than 3% of active customer accounts would trigger any FRA action, while only 0.1% of assessments would be classed as not frictionless.
Angus reassured the crowd that this did not mean that FRAs were guaranteed to be implemented, but that the Commission would work closely with the “Government, operators and credit reference agencies on the best way to implement them.”
Innovation
One of the strongest arguments against regulator overreach is the stifling of innovation, but Angus was prepared for this angle.
He said: “I wanted to pick up again on one of the inherent strengths of the gambling sector and that is innovation.
“And at a time when the illegal market may be ramping up its attack on the licensed sector, we want to make clear our support for innovation where it’s in line with our licensing objectives. If you have ideas to improve the customer experience, make it more positive, make it more competitive, we want to hear them.
“The current statutory and public policy framework does place some limitations on what can be achieved but it doesn’t block innovation out of hand. So if you have ideas that could deliver a better consumer experience, do reach out to us.”
Crypto
Finally, Angus explained a rather interesting perspective regarding cryptocurrency payments.
“And similarly, you may have heard, that following progress by the Financial Conduct Authority with their work on crypto assets, at the Commission we have started conversations with our Industry Forum about this.
“We are looking at what a potential path forward would be, to create a way for crypto assets to be more easily used as a consumer payment option for licensed and regulated gambling in Great Britain.
“This is early days and there is nothing more to say right now but it is something we are exploring.”
The Gambling Commission has launched a new Illegal Gambling Taskforce to track and combat the black market
